My advice is to buy as big a screen and as many features as you can afford. That way, you won't have regrets later on. It only hurts once- when you spend the extra $$$!
i have the garmin striker purchased it 3 months ago, i mainly fish bass and crappie, i am not sure if this striker is doing what i expected, if i want to move up in something with more features, what can i expect, some say side imaging in better, what is a preferred model with side imaging, will it be a noticeable improvement over a garmin striker
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My advice is to buy as big a screen and as many features as you can afford. That way, you won't have regrets later on. It only hurts once- when you spend the extra $$$!
BigDawgg LIKED above post
Side imaging units show more, but show better images at speeds of a couple miles per hour. Whatever unit you get, you have to understand how fast your boat/yak has to be going in order to provide understandable images on the screen. Plus, that screen size has to fit in the allotted space on your rig & not be burdensome or in the way.
I'd contact Brian@BBGmarine (Member Sponsor) and talk to him about it. He's very knowledgeable about all units, won't push you to any one brand, gives members a discount, and will work with you on getting a unit to fit your needs.
What size do you have? And what is your budget?
I'm convinced the echomap 93sv + is the best value out there. Good base maps where as striker has none (only GPS and waypoints). You can find a used one in the $500 range (discontinued model).
The new version is the 93 UHD and gets great reviews. I think it runs $1050 retail.
Both above units are livescope compatible if that interests you.
You could also add the navionics app to your GPS smartphone for $15/year if you're okay with the striker side imaging.
Get out there and watch some YouTube videos on your unit and those I mentioned above.
Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
Find other fishermen who have different equipment and ask to see what they have and get an idea in person on a boat. It doesn't have to be Garmin unless that's what you prefer. I had access to Garmin and I had a HDS 7 side, down and 2d images, I liked My HDS7 better and I thought it was the best for me. Then I saw the Helix 9 SI combo and I really liked the images better. Now I have the helix 12 G3 mega and I'm liking it a whole lot better. If you stay with Garmin you have the opportunity to add more with Live Scope later. It all boils down to you and what you like. Good luck choosing.